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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757902">Not Alone</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsarinaTorment/pseuds/TsarinaTorment'>TsarinaTorment</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo: Scott Edition [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Thunderbirds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo, Family, Friendship, Gen, Home Invasion, Post-recharge, Season 1, Siblings, Thunderbird Five is John's home, minor injury</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:48:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,552</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757902</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsarinaTorment/pseuds/TsarinaTorment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>John makes a miscalculation with unexpected consequences.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Tracy &amp; EOS, John Tracy &amp; Scott Tracy, Scott Tracy &amp; EOS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo: Scott Edition [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841482</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Not Alone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=such-a-random-rambler">such-a-random-rambler</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For "Bad Things Happen Bingo: Scott Edition", the prompt 'home invasion' featuring John (requested by such-a-random-rambler).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>John didn't remember who decided this was a good idea, but he had a sneaking suspicion it had been past-him, approximately twenty-four hours previously. That was unlike him – bad decisions got people killed so he'd learnt early on not to make them. Always work with all available data to reach the optimum plan of action and proceed accordingly. Maybe not simple, but certainly efficient.</p>
<p>He must have been more tired than he'd realised to make such a large error in calculation. It was a flaw of supernova proportions that at least one of his siblings must have also noticed, but in true annoying little brother fashion, none of them had said anything, leaving him to dig his own grave.</p>
<p>"John! What's the kill switch for this virus!"</p>
<p>He put his head in his hands and pretended he didn't hear Scott roaring in the kitchen section of the gravity ring.</p>
<p>Get Scott off the planet a while. Give him a break from the stress of life and International Rescue by relocating him to Thunderbird Five where he could spend extended time away from younger brothers he refused to break down in front of – John was a long-standing confidante, the advantage of being second eldest. Keep him out from under everyone's feet while he was grounded, because a grounded Scott was a nightmare.</p>
<p>That was probably why none of the others had pointed out the flaw in John's plan. An escape from Scott at his most frustrated wasn't something they'd willingly give up.</p>
<p>"John, your brother is attempting to destroy the bagel toaster."</p>
<p>A week, they'd agreed. A week of Scott on Thunderbird Five, some nice brotherly time without little brothers interrupting every two seconds.</p>
<p>A week of Scott and EOS trying to kill each other.</p>
<p>How John had forgotten that Scott and EOS were both terrified of each other – and both manifested their fear as aggression – he had no idea.</p>
<p>"EOS, did you throw bagels at him?" he asked, quietly despairing. It was one of her favourite pranks – harmless if annoying – but while John was now used to it, Scott…</p>
<p>Well, Scott was still stuck back when EOS was trying to kill them. Launching projectiles at him was a bad idea.</p>
<p>"Analysis suggested that humour is often used in bonding," she not-answered, telling John everything he needed to know. He groaned, head still in hands.</p>
<p>"Don't throw bagels at Scott," he told her, wincing as the sound of his brother's frustration made its way to his bunk. "We want him to <em>like</em> you, remember?" And trust, more importantly, but trust was going to be hard to cultivate if they kept winding each other up.</p>
<p>Why had he thought this was a good idea?</p>
<p>With another groan, he stood up and made his way through the gravity ring before Scott broke something. To think he'd been looking <em>forwards</em> to this.</p>
<p>"Scott, please don't wreck my kitchen," he sighed as he entered the compartment to see Scott banging on the top of the bagel maker with his good arm.</p>
<p>"I'm not!" Scott protested with all the righteousness of an eldest sibling before landing another hit. John winced and hurried over to his side, catching his hand firmly.</p>
<p>"<em>Scott</em>," he insisted. "If that breaks there's no breakfast until it's fixed and I, for one, don't plan on spending the day fixing a perfectly functioning toaster."</p>
<p>Scott scowled and pulled his hand back. "Your pet virus corrupted it," he grumbled, and John rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"EOS isn't a virus, Scott, and nor is she my 'pet'." He cast a quick eye over the machine, but it didn't seem like Scott had managed to damage it.</p>
<p>"I suppose it isn't," Scott grumbled darkly. "If it was, you'd be able to control it."</p>
<p>John knew better than to get into a debate with Scott about EOS when he was in a black mood. There was a conversation there that needed to be had, but not now. "Her." Well, most of it wasn't to be had now. "EOS is female."</p>
<p>"How is a <em>virus</em> a female?" Scott snapped. "It's just a jumble of numbers." Behind him, one of Thunderbird Five's internal cameras ringed itself with red dots but EOS, thankfully, remained silent. Hopefully she realised interrupting would do more harm than good.</p>
<p>"You don't have any problems calling MAX 'he'," John observed, and watched Scott's jaw stiffen as his teeth ground together, braced for the next comeback. When Scott was wound up, logic wasn't always an effective weapon against him. Sometimes he just had to rant it out before he was open to listening to reason.</p>
<p>When the expected retort didn't come, Scott stood stiffly in what was effectively space-rated civvies (because even though he was on Thunderbird Five he was firmly off duty) in the middle of the kitchen, John mentally ran through their exchange, trying to pinpoint the reason for the uncharacteristic- ah.</p>
<p>MAX. The Aurora Generator. Virgil.</p>
<p>The real reason Scott was off duty and effectively kicked off the planet by their younger siblings.</p>
<p>Colonel Casey – and therefore the GDF – had been told that Scott had been injured trying to secure the conductor in order to prevent the explosion. While it wasn't quite a bare-faced lie, it was hardly the whole truth.</p>
<p>He'd first wrenched his shoulder when he'd lost control of the pod and flipped it on the ice. Virgil had patched that up during their brief camp, only for him to jar the same arm again being flung from the top of the spire by the charge that had shot through him – John was grateful for their suits being able to redirect enough that only the inner electronics had fried, and not Scott himself. Physically, Scott just had to take it easy for a few days. The sling was for the Colonel's benefit whenever she made contact, and Scott wore it with minimal complaint.</p>
<p>To anyone who knew Scott, that was a massive red flag. Scott was incapable of 'taking it easy', and definitely refused to show weakness if it could at all be avoided. It helped sell him being off duty to the GDF, but to his family – all well aware that it wasn't as bad as it looked – it betrayed the deeper problem.</p>
<p>The only time Scott willingly showed one weakness was to hide another.</p>
<p>John wasn't known for physical contact compared to his more tactile siblings, but he put a hand on Scott's shoulder. His brother stiffened, but didn't shrug him off.</p>
<p>"Come on," he coaxed, drawing his brother away from the kitchen, the topic of EOS dropped for the moment. Scott followed, head down and reluctant. He'd never give in so easily at home, but that was why he was up on Five, away from the brothers that looked up to him for strength. John did, too, but John was older, saw more, and had never let Scott hide from him. Up on Five, it was just Scott and John, alone together in a way that almost never happened ever since Virgil had been born.</p>
<p>There was only one bed on Thunderbird Five. It was all she needed, most of the time; John generally didn't have guests 'overnight'. John sat down on it, and after a moment Scott joined him. Neither of them spoke; John looked down past their feet to the view of Earth passing by before they slowly turned away to face the depths of space. It was a calming view for him.</p>
<p>Scott, shoulder pressed lightly against his own, was never quite as comfortable in space. Still, he too was looking out through the clear floor of the gravity ring.</p>
<p>They had a week before Scott went back home. A week of Scott being technically off duty in the communications centre of International Rescue. John had no illusions about Scott actually sitting back and doing nothing. It wasn't in his brother's nature. No matter that he was supposed to be unwinding and trying to relieve some of the piles of stress on his shoulders.</p>
<p>"What am I doing, John?"</p>
<p>He hadn't expected Scott to address the issue so quickly, but that just proved how shaken up he was. Not pulling his eyes away from the starry view below his feet, he leaned into his brother's shoulder just a little more, a subtle acknowledgement of his words.</p>
<p>That was all Scott needed.</p>
<p>"I don't know how Dad did it," he continued. The arm closest to John shifted; if he looked, he knew he'd see Scott had his head in his hands – both of them, sling be damned. John would have to check his shoulder later. "He never gave up, always gave everything he had…" he trailed off for a moment, but John still didn't interject. He knew where this was going, knew what the difference between Dad and Scott was, but that wasn't what Scott needed to hear. Not yet.</p>
<p>This was why Scott was grounded, why he was up away from the world in Thunderbird Five. As far as physical injuries went, Scott's was minor, but the rescue had brought to light all the cracks behind the façade Scott tried to put up. He pushed too hard, too fast, and there was only one person still alive that he'd ever properly open up to.</p>
<p>John wasn't naïve enough to think that Scott would spill everything going on in his head; long-term confidante he might be, but he was still Scott's little brother. It didn't matter that John saw everything on Tracy Island – more than he ever let his brothers know, and he'd had to disconnect some of his usually-open links before Scott arrived to hide the fact that he constantly kept an eye on them even when they thought they were alone – Scott wouldn't tell him <em>everything</em>. But it would be more than he'd tell anyone else.</p>
<p>Sure enough, when Scott started again, it was painfully obvious that he was choosing his words. John listened, anyway, hearing the words he said and the insecurities he didn't. Not being good enough, never being good enough, failure. Scott never said as such, but he didn't need to; John knew his brother well enough.</p>
<p>"You need a break," he said finally, once Scott had said all he was going to. Scott sighed, deep enough that John could feel his shoulder shift.</p>
<p>"I know," he admitted, words that would never have passed his lips before the Aurora Generator and the groundwork Virgil laid, not even to John. "But I <em>can't</em>."</p>
<p>"That's why you're here," John reminded him, pressing against him for just a moment before letting the pressure fade away to nothing as he stood up. It was late, Tracy Island time. Thunderbird Five only had one bed. "Get some sleep." He didn't need it, not yet, and while the bed could take the two of them if they curled up together tight enough, it made more sense for them to sleep in shifts.</p>
<p>John sincerely hoped Scott and EOS wouldn't tear each other – or Thunderbird Five – to pieces while he took <em>his</em> naps later.</p>
<p>Scott didn't protest, aware of both the bed situation and John's different sleep schedule. "Wake me if you need me," was all that he said, and John made a noise of agreement before leaving the segment.</p>
<p>The first thing he did was disable the emergency alarms to the sleeping quarters. Off duty or not, Scott would come running the moment he heard that there was a call. John dealt with them solo all the time – it was his job, after all – and now he had EOS to streamline things further. He wouldn't need Scott.</p>
<p>"I do not understand why your brother insists on referring to me incorrectly despite repeated reminders," EOS said suddenly, the moment he finished. Glancing up at the camera she was currently inhabiting, because dealing with EOS required visual cues rather than audial, he grimaced. Her lights were yellow, not outright hostile, but not pleased, either. "I understand that I am not liked, but he does not respect me, either. Why did you invite him up here?"</p>
<p>There was nothing he could say that would appease her. Explaining Scott's situation, exposing the weaknesses and fears he had shared knowing John would never tell, would damage his relationship with his brother irreparably, and he couldn't do that, not even to teach EOS.</p>
<p>"Scott doesn't like change," he said instead. Not a lie, but a broad enough truth. "It takes him time to accept." Scott was good at adapting, had learnt the skill far too young when he'd ended up for all intents and purposes parentless with four younger brothers to raise, but adapting on demand was not the same as <em>accepting</em> the reason for the adaptation.</p>
<p>"None of your other brothers continue to refer to me as a virus," she pointed out. Yellow lights flickered. "Why is he different?"</p>
<p>
  <em>Because he's scared of you. Because if you wanted to kill me he knows he couldn't stop you. Because he couldn't even tell I was in danger when you impersonated me. You almost made some of his worst nightmares come true.</em>
</p>
<p>"Humans are all unique," he said out loud. "Every one of us learns and applies our knowledge at different paces; there's no set formula for it."</p>
<p>"That sounds very inefficient," EOS commented. Her lights flickered again. "And very inconvenient."</p>
<p>"It is," he agreed whole-heartedly. "But it's a quirk of humanity we have to accept and work around."</p>
<p>"When will your brother stop insulting me?" she asked. "You are his brother; you must know his unique formula."</p>
<p>John sighed, glancing back at the closed doors separating him from his hopefully-but-probably-not-sleeping brother. "It isn't that simple," he tried to explain, walking further away from Scott. Overhead the camera whirred and followed him. "There isn't a formula for a person's actions. It changes every time; there's no quantitative time frame."</p>
<p>"That means there is a possibility that Scott Tracy will never accept me?" Lights flashed red, unhappy and threatened. <em>Hunted</em>. John felt a flash of fear; he trusted EOS, but if she and Scott never reached an understanding, what would she do?</p>
<p>"He will do." John would make sure of it, because he had to protect EOS but he had to protect Scott, too. Besides, Scott trusted him.</p>
<p>"How can you be certain when there is no reliable data?"</p>
<p>"Because he's my brother," he said. "I know him. If there was no chance, he would never have let you stay."</p>
<p>"It was not his decision to make."</p>
<p>John remembered the veiled order, the <em>you know what has to be done</em>. Scott could have overridden him, ordered the destruction of Thunderbird Five, and Alan would have obeyed. He hadn't, but he could have done. Scott had made his decision then about EOS's fate, even if he didn't yet know it himself.</p>
<p>Now they just had to at least manage to be cordial to each other – a task they were both making out to be far harder than need be.</p>
<p>A distress call chose that moment to come in, and John let the matter drop. It was something the two of them would have to handle between themselves. He just hoped he'd have a Thunderbird left by the time they were done.</p>
<p>Three days into Scott's week off-planet, multiple rescues and occasional interference from a brother who refused to sit back and do nothing, even if all he <em>could </em>do was instruct over comms while John scavenged up data, Virgil called to check in on their older brother's progress. Dishevelled and about ready to tear his hair out, John dived into a section away from both Scott and EOS.</p>
<p>"It's awful," he told his younger brother, whose face immediately took on a look of panicked concern. "Get me out of here. <em>Please</em>."</p>
<p>"Get <em>you</em> out of there?" Virgil asked, confusion edging in over the other emotions as he registered John's desperate plea. "What do you mean? If Scott's not okay-"</p>
<p>"Scott's fine," John interrupted. He was. <em>More</em> than fine, in fact. A chaotic headache on a brother who hadn't lived in such close proximity with his big brother for years and had forgotten how terrible it could be.</p>
<p>And now there were <em>two</em> of them.</p>
<p>"Then… what's awful?" The concern had all but faded away, Virgil's brow furrowed in confusion. "If Scott's okay, then that's good, right?"</p>
<p>"No. Well, yes, of course it's good. More than good." He was babbling. That was bad. He was the Voice Who Answers, the one on the end of every call. He shouldn't <em>babble</em>. "But they're tag-teaming me!"</p>
<p>"They? Who- oh. EOS?" Virgil's frown got deeper. "I thought Scott and EOS didn't get on?"</p>
<p>"They didn't," John agreed. "Then they realised they had something in common." Waking up sometime around the forty-eight hour mark into Scott's visit to find the pair of them talking politely to each other – EOS's lights green and Scott with a small grin on his face – had been fantastic. No more feuding, no more 'virus' accusations and red lights turning his Thunderbird – his <em>home</em> – into a warzone. John had been delighted.</p>
<p>John had been a fool.</p>
<p>"Something in common?" Virgil asked. "John, what happened?"</p>
<p>"EOS's first priority is self-preservation," he explained. "I promised to protect her when I invited her to stay, so apparently, her idea of self-preservation is now protecting me."</p>
<p>"And that's a <em>problem</em>?" Virgil stared at him. "John, you know we're always worried about you being alone up there. That's why you're always on the wire with us. If EOS is looking out for you, then that's a <em>good</em> thing."</p>
<p>John buried his face in his hands. Virgil was missing the point entirely.</p>
<p>"Scott agrees with you," he said into his fingers, voice muffled but still clear enough to be picked up by the comm. "Scott also thinks this is a <em>good thing</em>."</p>
<p>"Of course he does," Virgil shrugged. "That shouldn't be a surprise."</p>
<p>Still missing the point.</p>
<p>"He's teaching herto be a smother hen," John hissed.</p>
<p>Virgil laughed like the annoying little brother he occasionally could be. John had been hoping for a slightly more sympathetic reaction.</p>
<p>"You're a big boy, Johnny," he grinned, ignoring John's eyeroll at the despised nickname. Virgil was spending too much time around Gordon. "You'll survive."</p>
<p>"John!" Scott's voice reverberated through the gravity ring. Thunderbird Five had never felt quite so <em>small</em> before. "Where are you?" John looked up at Virgil, still openly amused, and then towards the door Scott would no doubt be walking through within the next few seconds. Time to employ a time-honoured tactic: playing his brothers off against each other.</p>
<p>"Virgil called," he commented waving a hand towards the hologram as Scott inevitably walked in. "Why don't you two catch up while I go get dinner ready?" Scott had yet to get the hang of cooking in space, and he didn't give either brother a chance to protest before he ducked out of the segment. Hopefully Virgil would snap back into medic mode and grill Scott about his physical state – and probe his mental one – <em>before</em> they started discussing Scott's new protégé.</p>
<p>In the meantime, now that the opportunity had <em>finally</em> presented itself, John had damage control to do.</p>
<p>"EOS."</p>
<p>Instantly, the nearest camera whirred into life and followed him to the kitchen – he <em>did</em> need to get dinner, after all. "Is everything alright, John? Your blood pressure and heart rate are both slightly elevated and your voice is modulating outside of recorded average range. Do you need assistance with anything?"</p>
<p>John was going to murder Scott.</p>
<p>"No, EOS, I'm fine. But we need to talk about what Scott's telling you."</p>
<p>"Scott is assisting me with identifying signs of stress, illness and other afflictions that cause sub-optimal performance," EOS informed him, her lights flashing green.</p>
<p>John sighed. "I do not need my vital signs analysed constantly," he protested. "I'm glad you and Scott are getting on now, but you don't need to follow everything he says."</p>
<p>"I understand," EOS told him. It was probably supposed to be a reassurance, but she ruined it by continuing with "Scott told me you'd say that."</p>
<p>"Of course he did." Scott <em>had</em> raised four younger brothers, including him. He was, therefore, unfortunately wise to the majority of their tricks and could predict their reactions with a reasonable accuracy. John cast his mind to find something, anything, he could use to get EOS to back off. "Did he also tell you to report every deviation to him?"</p>
<p>"Scott requested that I keep him informed whenever your vitals leave normal parameters," EOS replied, and John groaned.</p>
<p>"Okay, no, that's not happening," he said firmly. "EOS, you are <em>not</em> reporting every fluctuation to Scott."</p>
<p>"Scott said that you would not like it." No, Scott was <em>not</em> defeating him on this.</p>
<p>"EOS, most fluctuations are normal and no reason for concern," he ploughed on. "Informing Scott of false positives won't help. Look up the parable 'the boy who cried wolf'."</p>
<p>"There is no wolf in this situation, and both you and Scott are considered to be legally adults in all cultures who define adulthood as reaching a certain age," EOS observed, and John rubbed at his face.</p>
<p>"It's a parable, EOS. Look it up."</p>
<p>"Very well." Her lights shifted to white and he was left in silence for a minute or so, which he used to tackle dinner. Reheating pre-packaged food wasn't exactly difficult, but retaining as much taste as possible was a skill John had down to a fine art at this point.</p>
<p>"John, I do not understand." He glanced up at the camera, still with white lights surrounding the lens. "Why do humans stop responding to repeated calls for assistance?"</p>
<p>"Because they get tired of reacting only to find they didn't need to," John explained. "So, for example, if you were to keep telling Scott every time my vitals moved a little outside your expected parameters, if it's always natural and of no concern he'll eventually think that will always be the case and stop reacting."</p>
<p>Her lights flashed yellow for a moment.</p>
<p>"So how do I maintain urgency?" she inquired. "I understand that Scott would be distressed if he overlooked a concern."</p>
<p><em>Distressed</em> was putting it lightly. Scott would be devastated.</p>
<p>"Only report if it's serious," he answered. "Loss of coherency, loss of consciousness, that sort of thing."</p>
<p>"I do not think Scott will agree with that," EOS pointed out, and John rolled his eyes, because <em>no</em>, his smother hen of an older brother would not.</p>
<p>"Talk to him about it," he suggested, hoping Scott would see <em>some</em> sense. Otherwise, he'd have to give him a not-so-subtle shove. "And tell me what you two decide." If he was going to be constantly monitored like he monitored his brothers (the irony was not lost on him), he was going to be aware of it.</p>
<p>"I will." The topic was dropped and John retrieved their now-edible food from the kitchen.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, it was Scott that next brought up the subject, several hours, one meal and two rescues later.</p>
<p>"You compared surveillance on your welfare to cry wolf?" he asked, throwing himself onto the bed, where John had been attempting to read a book to destress. Not much reading had happened since Scott arrived. "Really, John?"</p>
<p>"She was under the impression you wanted her to report every little fluctuation," John retorted, not looking away from the pages. "None of us have time for that. I'd rather you didn't have her reporting on me at all."</p>
<p>"No chance," Scott told him firmly. "Living in space is <em>dangerous,</em> John. If something happens… We need as much warning as we can get to reach you in time." John's mind flashed to a blurred red and white shape before darkness, and waking up a moment later to Alan's worried face in Thunderbird Three's cockpit. From the look on Scott's face, he wasn't the only one remembering that close call.</p>
<p>"It's never been a problem before," he pointed out, but Scott shook his head.</p>
<p>"We didn't have the capacity before. EOS gives us that capacity, and it would make me feel a hell of a lot better about you being up here if we used it," his older brother admitted. "You're not alone up here now, but EOS still listens to you more than me."</p>
<p>"It wasn't long ago that you wouldn't talk to her," John reminded him, selfishly glad that despite their sudden and intense camaraderie, EOS still prioritised him.</p>
<p>"She nearly killed you," Scott retorted.</p>
<p>"A misunderstanding," John corrected.</p>
<p>"Doesn't matter." Scott shook his head again. "If you'd died, you'd still have been <em>gone</em>, misunderstanding or not." There was pain in his voice, and John abandoned his book to look at his brother. "You trust her, and I agree she means it when she says keeping you safe is a priority, but I can't forget what nearly happened, John. What if your line had snapped? The airlock blew? Different cause, same result. If EOS can help me get here faster, alert me sooner, if something happens, then dammit I'm going to take every extra second she can give."</p>
<p>Scott looked tired, worn, and John abruptly remembered the whole reason he was grounded and on Thunderbird Five in the first place – the stress of command, of <em>responsibility</em>. He'd mistaken that for just being all the back to back missions, three younger brothers in the thick of it and more and more people calling for their help as their reputation continued to grow. The idea that John himself, up in Thunderbird Five and only Brains' genius between him and certain death, had also been one of those weights had slipped his mind at some point. Thunderbird Five was his home now, and while he knew the dangers of living in space, he'd become desensitised to the risks.</p>
<p>Apparently, Scott hadn't.</p>
<p>"Okay," he agreed, leaning so that they were shoulder to shoulder again. "I won't stop EOS from reporting to you." The smile that spread across Scott's face was one of relief. "But it won't be every tiny, insignificant fluctuation. Leave it to when there's actually a danger, not when I'm panicking because you stopped answering your comms. <em>Again</em>."</p>
<p>Scott at least had the grace to look slightly sheepish at that.</p>
<p>"We'll come up with the parameters together," he agreed, though. "You, me and EOS. You can't say I'm overreacting then."</p>
<p>John grinned. "You can't help being such a smother hen," he teased. Scott swatted at him, but there was a grin on his face, too, and they fell into a companionable silence.</p>
<p>He'd just returned to his book when Scott broke it.</p>
<p>"John… I'm glad you're not alone up here anymore." The grin was gone, replaced with heartfelt sincerity.</p>
<p>John glanced over at the door separating the sleeping segment from the next one, where EOS no doubt lurked. He was used to being alone. Thunderbird Five wasn't designed for cohabitation, Scott's constant presence making her seem so much smaller. Even EOS, despite not having a physical presence to crowd him, changed <em>something </em>about his 'bird, and that was before Scott started training her up to be her own smother hen. Life in space was never going to be the same again. But… "So am I." John was fine with that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This ended up surprisingly light-hearted in the end, but with John there was really only one way I could take this.</p>
<p>Tsari found Bad Things Happen Bingo and immediately got herself a card to use on Scott. To turn it into an actual game, I'm asking people to pick one of the prompts and a not-Scott Thunderbirds character to write him with and writing based on what I get! <a href="https://tsarisfanfiction.tumblr.com/badthingshappenbingo">You can see my card on my fanfiction tumblr</a> alongside prompts I've already received if you want to join in the fun (contacting me via tumblr or comment is both fine)!</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!<br/>Tsari</p></blockquote></div></div>
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